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Craft brewer restriction found unconstitutional- precedent for Tesla?

If there is any business that Texas legislators favor more than the auto dealers, it's the beer distributors. In 2013 the legislature passed a law prohibiting craft breweries from charging the wholesalers for distribution rights. Yesterday a judge found this unconstitutional. The attorney representing the breweries said "the Texas Constitution prohibits the legislature from passing laws that enrich one business at the expense of another."

Different principle. For car manufacturers, it effectively just implies that they can have a franchise fee. Alcohol has the same kind of regulatory capture, with prohibition of direct sales, and this case did nothing to remove that.

Different principle. For car manufacturers, it effectively just implies that they can have a franchise fee. Alcohol has the same kind of regulatory capture, with prohibition of direct sales, and this case did nothing to remove that.

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Right, the facts are entirely different and the breweries were not trying to invalidate the "three tier" system of alcohol distribution which prohibits direct sales by the brewery. My point was the principle of prohibiting laws which enrich one business (beer distributors, auto dealers) at the expense of another (craft breweries, auto manufacturers) may apply.

Apparently Travis County doesn't have docs online like the other big counties. So no opinion unless someone wants to request a copy.

I think there could definitely be some parallels if the attorney's comment about the Texas Constitution was actually the basis for the breweries' argument. But sometimes the PR sound bite isn't the same as the legal argument.

Apparently Travis County doesn't have docs online like the other big counties. So no opinion unless someone wants to request a copy.

I think there could definitely be some parallels if the attorney's comment about the Texas Constitution was actually the basis for the breweries' argument. But sometimes the PR sound bite isn't the same as the legal argument.

Meta

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